7 openly gay lears have served as heads of state. Latvian print Edgars Rkēvičs is the latt

Contents:

• IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE
• IRELAND VOT TO APPROVE GAY MARRIAGE, PUTTG COUNTRY VANGUARD
• IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM
• HUGE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND VOTE FOR GAY MARRIAGE
• LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE
• MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

IRELAND BE FIRST UNTRY TO LEGALISE GAY MARRIAGE BY POPULAR VOTE

Ireland has voted by a huge majory to legalise same-sex marriage, beg the first untry the world to do so by popular vote a move hailed as a social revolutn and weled around the 62% of the Irish Republic’s electorate voted favour of gay marriage. The huge Y vote marks another tone Ireland’s journey towards a more liberal, secular of an electorate of more than 3 ln, 1, 201, 607 backed gay marriage, while 734, 300 voters said No. The rult prompted a massive street party around the gay district of central Dubl close to the natnal unt centre.

IRELAND VOT TO APPROVE GAY MARRIAGE, PUTTG COUNTRY VANGUARD

Directly addrsg Ireland’s gay muny, taoiseach Enda Kenny said the rult meant that “a majory of people this republic have stood up for them [those the gay muny]”. We are a genero, passnate, bold and joyful people who say y to cln, y to generosy, y to love, y to gay marriage. ”Health mister Leo Varadkar, who this year me out as the untry’s first openly gay mister, said the mpaign had been “almost like a social revolutn” social transformatn of the untry was on display the grounds of Dubl Castle, former seat of Brish le Ireland and the se of the natnal unt for a referendum that was unthkable jt two s ago – was only 1993 that homosexualy was crimalised.

The rabow lours of the ternatnal gay movement l up the 18th-century bbled urtyard amid glor sunshe on Saturday afternoon as up to 2, 000 gay activists celebrated a roundg Fe Gael-Labour aln had asked voters to amend their 78-year-old nstutn. The overall turnout of 61% was higher than the poll to ratify the 1998 Good Friday agreement, when 56% of the electorate me out to pro-reform vote was also energised by an 11th-hour movement lled #hometovote, which ed social media to enurage young Irish expatriat to get back to Ireland time to first nstuency that clared favour of a Y vote was the ral Sligo/North Lerim, which backed gay marriage by 54% to 46%.

IRISH VOTERS MAKE HISTORY GAY MARRIAGE REFERENDUM

Photograph: Clodagh Kilyne/Getty Imag Photograph: Clodagh Kilyne/Getty ImagAs the first nfirmed rult was announced, veteran Irish gay rights mpaigner Senator David Norris arrived at Dubl Castle, where he was mobbed as a hero by a younger generatn of gay activists.

The world expert on Jam Joyce had pursued urt s all the way to the European urt of human rights, forcg a prev Irish ernment to crimalise homosexualy cheers and applse om the crowd gathered the urtyard, and wh tears his ey, Norris said the rult would spire others across the pla.

There are untri throughout Ai and Asia which is terribly dangero to be gay, ” Norris said. “It’s clear that, if the referendum is an affirmatn of the views of young people, the church has a huge task ont of , ” Mart pro-gay marriage vote ptured headl around the world, wh celebri praisg the oute.

HUGE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND VOTE FOR GAY MARRIAGE

”Back the sunshe at Dubl Castle, the crowds gave a rock-star wele to another proment Irish gay spokman, the drag queen and human rights activist Panti Bliss, also known as Rory O’ Bliss aka Rory O’Neill leads the celebratns. ”But while the thoands the Castle leapt for joy, wept and waved rabow flags triumph when the overall natnal vote was announced, there was a remr om the gay muny Northern Ireland that the stggle for equaly is far om over even on the Boyd, of the gay rights group the Rabow Project Belfast, remd the world that there was still a ban on gay marriage north of the borr. It’s been over 25 years sce the crimalizatn of homosexualy Ireland and not that many years sce Ireland led the way by beg one of the first untri to support same-sex marriage.

Gay marriage has only been legalized Ireland for four years (almost). The laws agast homosexualy, Ireland, dated back to Victorian tim and were enforced for almost 150 years. For most of Ireland’s history, s laws agast homosexualy dated back to the Victorian era and were felt for more than 140 years.

David Norris, a lecturer at Try College Dubl, is one of the pneers of the movement agast the crimalizatn of homosexualy. He began legal proceedgs back 1977 to crimalize homosexualy. In 1982, a gay man named Declan Flynn was btally and fatally attacked Dubl by five men.

LATVIA BE 7TH NATN TO BE LED BY AN OPENLY GAY HEAD OF STATE

He built a se agast the Irish State over the nstutnal stat of the crimalizatn of certa homosexual acts, and was a huge victory – pecially sce he won and laid the road for further chang the future for the crimalizatn of homosexualy Ireland. The crimalizatn of homosexualy was a huge succs, but would be many years before a homosexual uple would have the rights to legally bd their relatnship eher through marriage or a civil partnership – 17 years to be precise!

Gay or straight, we are the same, and we should all be entled to marry the person we love.

After all, Ireland, a tradnally nservative Catholic untry, only crimalized homosexualy 1993.

MANY BRONS HAVE CHANGED THEIR MDS ON GAY MARRIAGE

Mister for Health Leo Varadkar publicly revealed he was gay for the first time durg the mpaign and lled the w a “historil day. Mr Varadkar revealed publilly durg the referendum mpaign that he was gay. “I would like to have seen that the rights of gay and lbian men and women uld have been rpected whout changg the fn of marriage.

Senator Filma Healy Eam, who also mpaigned for a No vote, said the referendum “for me was never anti-gay”. She said she had swched her vote om Y to No simply bee of her ncerns around nstutnal change and s effect on a child’s No advocy group Mothers and Fathers Matter exprsed “warm ngratulatns” to the Y si but said that one three Irish people - the vote rat - were not reprented by the polil mpaigner and Fianna Fáil Senator Averil Power said gay mpaigners who told their stori on the doorsteps of voters had “helped to change Ireland for all of ”, not jt the gay said she had seen many of them rced to tears by the experience they had durg the mpaign. Senator David Norris, who fought om the 1970s to 1993 to have homosexualy crimalised, weled the rult.